A Sin Amongst Sinners
by Masaichu
Summary: Meito shouldn't have found out. But he did, and he wouldn't let Mikuo be hurt by this. He was doing this for Mikuo's good, wasn't he? That meant that he could do anything, and everything, to prevent it...right?
1. Prologue

_I met someone new recently. Someone who is very kind and generous. Someone whom I could talk and relate to easily. And you know what the best thing about them that I found was?_

_It was that they didn't ask me for any minor details of myself. They just waited for me to say them by myself, by my own wishes and wanting._

_But..._

_I don't like to tell people the details about me. Why do they to know things so small and unneeded? Does it matter?_

_After all, when you tell someone the most intricate details, you're letting them know everything there is to learn about you. That's a bad thing, though. A very, very bad thing to tell someone you've only just met._

_Because they know too much about you then. They've learned how to destroy you, whether it is slowly and painfully, or swiftly and immediate._

_I'm afraid to tell people about me because they might figure it out._

_My deepest secret..._

_I fear that they will learn it, simply by looking at all the other things about me. If it isn't already obvious enough, at least. I don't want it to be obvious though, I will do anything to hide it._

_Because I don't want people to look at me differently._

_I don't want to be hurt because of what I believe in._

_But there are people like that in the world. People who will read you and learn you and hurt you even if you beg them not to. Even if you throw yourself to the ground and ask for mercy, they won't give it to you. _

_That is my reason._

_The reason why I will keep my lips closed._

_The reason why I will tell nothing that they do not need to know._

_And I will leave no exceptions._

_Not my friends, not my family, not even my best friend..._

_...But then...Why does that feel so wrong?_


	2. Worry Over Nothing

"Will you give me the remote already? You've been hogging it all morning!"

Leaping over the couch, the pink, drill-haired girl snatched the remote out of her brother's hand and switched the channel to something else, which only caused outcry from the boy next to her.

"Hey! I was watching that!" He protested, reaching for the remote. Before he could steal it back, something hit him in the side of the face and forced him off the couch.

"Did you catch that soda, Ted?" Came a voice from the kitchen.

Rubbing his now red cheek, Ted stood with the dented soda can in hand. "Did you have to throw it at me?!"

No one replied, of course. Meito had a tendency to try and avoid talking to angry people, especially when one of them was Ted.

The two of them didn't exactly get along with each other, so it was wise not to speak if it would cause a fight.

When he stepped into the living room, sipping a cola, Meito was greeted to the sight of Teto and Ted Kasane fighting not only for the remote now, but for both the remote and a certain face-hitting soda can.

Shaking his head, the brunette leaned against the doorway and watched with amusement as the pink-haired siblings argued before taking off running down the hallway.

Vaguely, he heard Ted say "Hold this!" to someone, and then more running farther down the hall.

Mikuo came into the living room shortly, with the soda can in his hand. A small smirk played on Meito's lips.

"Why don't you drink that one?"

"W-Wha? But Ted said-"

"Forget what he said." Meito scoffed, rolling his eyes. "There's more then one soda in this house, they'll live."

Slowly bringing the can up to him, Mikuo eyed it nervously before popping the tab...

...And promptly getting splurted clean in the face with brown cola.

Meito immediately burst out in laughter, sliding his back down the doorway until he was sitting on the floor, gripping his can in one hand and his stomach with the other.

The dumbfounded look on the mint-haired boy's face was just too priceless to pass up. Mikuo slowly touched the side of his wet face, running it up into his hair, which was also soaked in cola. The greenish tips were now brown and sticky. His whole top half felt sticky with the stuff.

"T-That wasn't...funny..." He stammered, giving Meito a slight sad look.

Meito's bellowing laughter stopped slowly after he saw that look, before taking a deep breath and standing up.

"You don't think I meant for that, do you? It was Ted's fault anyway, he didn't catch it the first time."

"You told me to open it..."

"Uh, yeah...? Because I wanted you to _drink_ it, not..._Bathe _in it." He shrugged. Why was Mikuo such a sensitive guy?

Looking around the floor, he picked up an old rag and threw it to Mikuo. "Here, just clean yourself up and take a shower and whatever. I'll get those two personally for you this time."

--

_'That still wasn't funny at all...He didn't have to laugh at me.'_

Mikuo thought to himself, scrubbing at his hair fiercely to get the sticky cola out. No matter how many times he applied shampoo and scrubbed hard and rinsed it all out, there was always a patch of dry, crumpled hair left.

He had probably repeated this cycle three or four times already before he peeked out from behind the curtain at the small clock that sat on the bathroom sink.

The clock read 12:43, and as soon as he saw it, Mikuo's muscles tightened and a rush of adrenaline went pouring through his veins.

_'Oh no! How could I have forgotten! I need to hurry!'_

Scrubbing faster and harder, he rinsed as much of the soda out as he could and leapt from the shower.

He'd never dried himself off or had himself dressed so quickly before, but maybe it was the adrenaline doing it. Settling for a gray t-shirt, blue shorts and a tie -he had a liking for ties, he supposed- Mikuo went dashing out of the bathroom.

--

Having managed to get Ted and Teto off their comfy throne, Meito lay sprawled out on the couch while surfing through the various TV channels, munching through a bag of potato chips.

Glancing inside sheepishly, Mikuo stood in the hallway. He had to get out of the house, but what would he tell the others? He needed an excuse, a good excuse...

"U-Um...Meito-san?" He stammered.

Meito turned to look at him before sitting up, brushing chip crumbs off his shirt. "Yeah? What's up?" He asked, picking another chip out of the bag.

"I'm going to...Uh...I'm going to the..."

"'You're going to the', what?"

"The library!" He blurted, giving a nervous smile. They wouldn't look for him there, surely.

"Since when did you start becoming a bookworm?" Joked Meito. He knew for a fact that Mikuo was probably the second most avid reader in the house, next to Ted. When that guy had his glasses on and wasn't watching television, Ted could out read them all.

He'd even gotten a part-time job at the library sorting books, but today was supposed to be his day off, which meant Mikuo would be safe with his lie.

"I just, um...Wanted to check some things." He continued, trying to sound firm. "What? You think I don't like to read?"

"No, no, it's not that. Just...Y'know, go on ahead, I'm not stopping you. Do whatever."

With a shrug of his shoulders, Meito lazily fell back into his laying position.

Assuming he was safe for the most part, Mikuo tiptoed towards the door slowly, cautiously. Snatching a jacket up from the hook nearby, the boy darted for the door fast.

"Oh!" Meito yelled suddenly. Mikuo stopped in his tracks.

"Y-Yes?"

"...When you come back, think you can swing by the movie story and rent a couple horror movies? Don't get those sissy ones you got last time, get those hardcore ones! Even if you won't watch them with us."

"...S-Sure..." He responded, exhaling a sigh of relief.

With that said, he turned and rushed out the door, slamming it behind him.

A small wince passed through Meito when he heard it. Shaking his head, he pushed his hair out of his face and grabbed the remote up again.

_'Geez, he's tense. He needs to take a chill pill like us...'_

--

At some point that afternoon, he must have fallen asleep, because Meito woke up to Teto looming over him behind the couch.

"Get up!" She yelled. "It's your turn to do all the laundry, you baka!" Reaching down, she flicked her finger right between his eyes, which got him bolting up fast.

He growled and stood up. She used that word too much. 'Baka'. Her brother said that too, though. It might as well have been their catchphrase as it were.

"You are such a baka!" They often said.

Speaking of...

"Why didn't you ask Ted? He needs to get his lazy ass up and do some work around here."

Teto gave him a glare like a little kid would when their favorite toy is taken from them.

"He _is_working, baka! Ted-san had to go in and sort some more books."

Meito had a good laugh at this. "Getting called in on his day off? That's gotta suck." He snickered until the pink girl poked him in the ribs hurtfully.

"You don't even have a job, so you shouldn't be laughing. Why don't you get one already? All you do is laze around!" She poked him again from emphasis.

"Oof!" Meito cried out, before trying to jab her back. "Funny, I don't see _you_ with a job."

Teto dodged fast, giving him a small, evil smirk. "If you hurt me, I'm telling Ted-san."

This caught Meito's attention, and he immediatly recoiled. Ted would beat him bad if Teto got hurt by his hand.

"Grr, fine you little brat, I'll do it." He pointed at her with a warning glare.

She slapped his hand away and started walking away to ignore him. He gave her a final huff and headed for the laundry room. "Just call him or something and tell him to bring Mikuo with him. He's been at that library forever..."

--

As it turned out, however, when Ted walked in the door, Mikuo was not behind him. When asked why, he gave the two a very confused, unsure look.

"Why would he be with me?" He questioned, setting down a few books on the coffee table.

"He said he was going to the library, so I just thought he would have come home with you." The look on Meito's face was equally as confused as the rest of them.

"I was there all afternoon, I didn't see him."

"Maybe you were in the wrong section?" Teto offered, but Ted shook his head at her.

"He comes looking for me when he knows I'm there. I'm telling you, he wasn't there."

"So then..." Meito put his arms out. "Where _is_ he then?"

Teto and Ted looked at each other, then at Meito, merely giving him those same confused looks as before.

--

It was nearly eight when the front door opened and a particular boy returned home. The minute he stepped in, however, he practically fell over backwards as three bodies crowded around him, and three voices began shooting questions at him like crazy.

"Where were you?"

"We were worried!"

"Did you get lost?"

The crowding, the voices, it was getting to be too much...

"I'm fine! I'm fine, okay? Just, don't ask so much!" Mikuo cried, trying to push through them.

"Just tell us where you were!" Teto said, putting her hands on her hips. Mikuo never stayed out much at night, so this was definitely something that worried them.

"No where, alright? I just got sidetracked, that's it!"

Everyone's voices silenced, and it was quiet for a moment. The information was soaked up fast, and they all nodded in agreement, deciding his story was plausible.

Mikuo was easy to distract after all. He'd probably just gotten a bit lost.

"All this worry over nothing..." Ted muttered, quickly walking back to his room to continue reading the book he'd left off on.

Teto broke off and went for the kitchen, no doubt to raid the cabinets for french bread. That left Mikuo and Meito standing together. Meito wanted to ask more, but he wasn't sure why.

For some odd reason, he felt there was more to the story, but...Nah, Mikuo isn't a liar. And he was simply paranoid is all. They all were, that's what you get for being close knit friends.

"So..." He attempted to break the silence. "Did you rent those movies?"

"...S-Sorry, no..."

Aside from that little disappointment, everything was normal, as usual. Too bad things don't stay that way long...


	3. Ringing Off the Hook

_I felt terrible, having to lie to them. I hate to lie to people so much. When you tell a lie, it can only backfire on you._

_But I had no choice, I __had__ to lie...That doesn't make sense though, does it?_

_I know, I know...I sound jealous, don't I?_

_But, you have to understand...If I had told them I was going to see a friend, they would have wanted to come along. And I just...Didn't want them to. That's not wrong, right?_

_My head hurts from thinking about all of this though._

_They seemed like they were accusing me of something when I came back. I know they were worried about me, but why?_

_Why that much?_

_Oh, my head...It hurts so bad...I want to just lay down and make it all go away. I can't do that though, because there's something wrong with my mind._

_Every time I close my eyes, that person...__Him_..._His image is in my mind._

_Yes, my friend is male...D-Don't be getting any wrong ideas! He's just a really nice, friendly type of guy..._

_Kind of like...A gentleman..._

_I met him at that coffee shop Meito-kun and I went to a few months ago. I liked it there, but Meito-kun didn't...He said he didn't like what they had there, so we stopped going..._

_Well, I __wanted__ to go, but...I'm almost always with someone else, so I couldn't...But I actually had some free time, and I went in and...It was so empty there._

_Except for him. He was sitting in the corner, sipping some tea from a mug and he looked at me. He was this tall figure with dark blue hair, and this bit of a...smirk._

_He waved his hand for me to come over and we just...We started talking, I don't know how._

_He didn't force me to say anything, he just chuckled and asked if I was in a hurry, and I said no, and he said it's interesting to speak with someone you don't know because you may make a new friend, and..._

_He was right. I __did__ make a new friend..._

_We got along so well, I mean really. We didn't talk much about each other, though. We talked about the town and what was in the newspaper and the weather...It wasn't even awkward though._

_There was just something about him that made me want to keep on talking._

_But eventually he looked at the clock and said he had to leave and we said goodbye. It was supposed to be just a one time thing._

_I found myself going there again the next day._

_And again the day after that. And yet again after that. The others...I've run out of excuses by now to tell them. I usually just leave without a word and come back on my own time._

_After the first time, they were a bit shaken, I guess...I still don't know why._

_But when it started happening all the time, they just didn't ask. They must think I'm just 'growing up finally', like Teto sometimes says I should. I'm plenty grown up, aren't I?_

_I wonder if they are suspicious though...The other day, Meito asked me what I do out of the house all the time._

_I added another lie to the growing list I have. I told him that I go to the park, or I go window shopping, or just walk around. Just explore around me._

_He said that 'we should go out somewhere together. Have some fun.'_

_I'm afraid of that now though. What if we walk down the street, and I see him again? What if he sees me? What if Meito thinks..._

_No! No, I'm just going to close my eyes and sleep off everything right now..._

_His image is in front of me again...His face, his hair, his laugh..._

_Why can't I get him out of my mind?_

--

When the front door slammed open, and Ted came stomping in, Meito thought it best to leap over the couch and crouch down to hide.

Because if Ted Kasane is in a really, really bad mood, you don't want to be in his path. Otherwise, his wrath will crush you down until you can no longer breathe.

Okay, maybe Meito was exaggerating just a little bit. But honestly, he didn't want to be in the guy's way.

Ted stomped past the couch into the kitchen. Peeking out, Meito slowly crawled into the kitchen, glancing inside to see Ted scarfing a piece of french bread down, tearing it apart savagely.

He stood slowly and spoke softly. "Uh...Something wrong, Ted?"

The pink-haired man shot him a dark glare, biting harder on the bread. "_Yes_something is wrong! All the new books we were supposed to recieve today didn't get there!"

Meito gave him a strange look. "Um...Okay?"

"If I don't have books to sort, I don't get paid! Get it now?!" Swallowing the last of the bread, Ted reached for a glass and turned on the sink, before drinking a glass of water in one standing.

"Alright, alright, I get it. No need to yell at me." Backing up, Meito was fully prepared to run away if he had to. Instead, Ted sighed deep and long, before looking at him with his usual calm look.

"No, I'm sorry. I've just had a bad day, and now I have to call up the stores and try to explain all of this."

"How hard could that be?" Meito asked, shrugging. Ted gave him another look.

"Don't ask, just get me the phone."

"Go ask Mikuo, he has it right now."

Both men rolled their eyes. Mikuo had been using the phone a lot more lately, though the reason for it was unknown. Who would he be calling all the time?

And not to mention that every time the phone rang, he would make a mad dash to grab it first. As if he needed to hear that call or he would drop over dead within a matter of seconds.

Walking past the brunette, Ted went up to Mikuo's bedroom door and knocked on it loudly, firmly.

He had to be serious, but not too much so. The boy was a bit oversensitive, after all.

"Mikuo?" He called. He could hear Mikuo talking on the phone, but as soon as Ted spoke, Mikuo stopped immediately, silent, and then called back.

"Y-Yeah?"

"I need the phone right now, can you give it to me?"

There was a long pause, and he heard Mikuo mumble something before hanging up on whomever he had been talking to. A few moments later, the door opened and Ted took the phone out of his hands.

Mikuo stood in the doorway, long after Ted had walked off while dialing a number.

He suddenly felt very deprived.

--

When Ted had finished his calls, and Teto had played messenger girl and given the phone back to Mikuo, he had immediatly begun trying to reach someone.

Meito leaned against the doorway, watching. Mikuo seemed uncomfortable with him around, though.

"Who do you keep calling anyway? Did you find a cute girl to pick up?" He teased, not noticing the small shiver go through Mikuo.

"J-Just someone, that's all..."

"Can't you tell me her name? C'mon, that much man." He continued to prod.

"Can you just leave me alone, Meito-kun...? Please?" Mikuo was practically begging now, having stopped dialing the number.

Laughter fading, Meito stared at him a long moment before nodding, adding a quiet "sure" and leaving. As soon as he shut the door, Mikuo's fingers went to dial the number.

He dialed, put it to his ear and listened to it ring.

_'Did you find a cute girl to pick up?'_

Another shudder passed through him.

"Hello?" A voice said.

Someone had picked up on the other line.

"Who is this? ...Hello?"

"..."

_'Can't you tell me her name?'_

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

He hung up without a word.

--

Wiping sweat off her brow, Teto busily continued cooking up what she called 'french bread sandwiches.' She had a strange desire to import the bread into just about anything you could possibly cook.

And while some dishes were actually tasty -and edible- others tended to be, more or less, a sickening pit in the stomach.

Humming a small tune to herself, she didn't seem to notice when Mikuo walked inside. He had this empty look on his face, like he'd been drained of everything.

Teto saw this almost immediately when she turned to see who was behind her. In fact, you could say she jumped at the sight of him.

"What's gotten into you?" She asked. Mikuo said nothing. "Hey, are you alright? Are you sick? You looks sorta pale..."

Still, Mikuo was silent.

Trudging past her, he opened the fridge and pulled out a bundle of two or three leeks. He could hear her talking, but he just didn't feel at all like answering. Not in the slightest.

Instead, Mikuo just walked right past her again, ignoring her protests and escaping back into his bedroom.

Shutting the door and falling onto his bed, he lay staring up at the ceiling. The leeks sat on the small bedside table next to him. Taking one, Mikuo chomped at the end of it and chewed slowly, his eyes never breaking from the ceiling.

What was this empty feeling?

He took another bite, smaller then the last. Then another one, smaller. Smaller again.

Small. Smaller. Nothing.

It takes a minute for him to realize his eyes have the tiniest sting in them.

Glancing over just barely at the phone sitting next to him, Mikuo wondered slightly...

--

_"Please leave a message."_

"...Call me soon...I have to talk to you..."


	4. Accidental Answer

**I bring you the next chapter! If there are any parts where the italics run next to the non-italic words, please let me know so I can fix it. Please Enjoy!**

--

For the longest amount of time anyone could remember in that house, the phone stayed quiet. Not a single ring to be heard for hours. And while some enjoyed the peace and quiet resulting from it, one certain boy did not.

In fact, the longer the phone stayed silent, the more his chest began to ache.

_'Why hasn't he called me yet...He never ignores my messages...'_

Laying curled up on his bed, Mikuo's gaze was perpetually caught on the phone sitting on the bed table. It almost felt like it was mocking him, just laying there without it's lights and ring tone.

He hadn't left the room since he'd came in during lunch. The leeks were long gone, and his stomach growled for more. But he didn't bother to move from his spot, no matter how much hunger called.

Through the crack in the bottom of the door, the scent of dinner wafted in. It smelled good...Which meant it was probably Ted cooking. He always cooked the best out of the three of them. Teto's meals were more...experiments. And Meito? Meito flat out just sucked at cooking all together at most things. But he could cook _some_ things. Just not what Ted was making.

But he wouldn't leave this room until the phone rang. Until Mikuo knew he was on the other line and listening to every word that came out of those lips.

He was a bit afraid one of them would come inside and try to shake him out of bed, but they must have assumed he was sick or something after earlier that afternoon. No one bothered to knock, but even so he pretended to be asleep until he heard footsteps walking down the hall.

Alone again...All alone...

_'Where are you...I need you...Please...Just call me, just for a minute even...'_

--

_...Where are you right now?_

_Are you home now? Are you out elsewhere? Tell me there isn't...Someone else around..._

_I want to be the only one you give those special looks to, and say those special words to...I want...To reach out and touch your hand...Your face...Your beautiful face..._

_How am I suppose to deny it? My heartbeat...Every time I think of you, or say your name, it quickens so much that I think I'll fall over dead._

_Would you understand my feelings though...? You like me too, don't you...? I don't...Want to be rejected anymore..._

_All of them, any of them...I never had a chance with anyone. But you..._

_You're__ different..._

_You talk about things that I never would feel comfortable saying to someone else...I can say anything to you and you never judge me from it...At least, I hope you don't..._

_If you'll just...If you'll just call, I'd tell you all of it...I don't care how much of a difference is between us..._

_I...I love you..._

_I love you..._

_I __love__ you..._

_I __**love**__ you!!_

--

The familiar ring of a particular land line phone went off at exactly 10:53 PM on a foggy night.

And frankly, it had torn the last nerve within Meito.

How many times did Mikuo need to call whoever was on that damn line? Seriously! All this ringing was making him lose sleep, for God's sake!

Rolling out of his bed and dropping the empty sake bottle he'd been drinking from to the floor, Meito slammed his door open and stomped towards Mikuo's bedroom door.

Instead of the usual, regular-person type knocks he made normally, this time he banged against the door loudly, in a somewhat drunken rage.

One bottle wasn't enough to make him drunk, but enough to make him more irritated than he would be if he were sober.

"Mikuo!" He yelled. Springs could be heard on the bed inside, moving as though startled.

"Y-Yes, Meito...?" Mikuo called back timidly.

"Get off the damn phone! I'm actually trying to sleep early for once!" He was lying through his teeth, but he didn't care. He just wanted that phone to stop ringing.

"B-But I'm-"

He didn't pick up the hint of anxiety in Mikuo's voice. "I don't care! Turn it off!" And before Mikuo could say another word, he banged the door one more time for good measure and went trudging back to his room.

Maybe, maybe if he were lucky, he could close his eyes and ignore it all and-

The talking. He could hear it still. Muffled, very much faint.

But it annoyed him to no end.

Alright, enough was enough. He wanted to know who this person was, and what they wanted.

Sneaking out the door, Meito crept towards the other phone that sat in the living room -seeing as most of them forgot there even was another phone half the time- and proceeded to snatch it up.

Pressing his finger to the receiver button, he waited until he was sure it was ready before slowly lifting it away. With a tiny smirk, Meito brought the phone to his ear.

Time to see whom Mikuo kept talking to...

What he heard, however, was far from what he expected.

_"I...I'm so glad you called me back..."_Mikuo's voice spoke. The voice that responded, however, was probably one of the deepest, most masculine voices Meito had ever heard aside from his own deep voice.

_**"Of course I called back. I wouldn't just merely leave you to seethe in your sadness."**_ A slight chuckle was heard afterwards.

_"I just...I felt so bad and-"_

_**"Say no more. I understand quite well. Just as well, how could I not? Seeing as how long I've had to get to know you."**_

Wait...So...Whoever this guy was, Mikuo had been seeing him for awhile? Well, that definitely explained where he was half the time. But not even bothering to tell the rest of them?

Meito listened longer, not daring to hang up. He needed to know who this guy was.

_"...I-I'm glad you understand then, Baraito-san..."_

Baraito? What kind of a name was _Baraito_?

_**"Perhaps we will discuss it more tomorrow at our usual spot in that quaint coffee shop." **_Baraito answered back, chuckling yet again. It sounded so...strange to Meito.

_"...U-Um..."_

_**"Hm?"**_

_"A-Actually...I...Maybe we could...Go s-somewhere else tomorrow...?"_

_**"Oh? Just what did you have in mind, per say?"**_

_"...T-The park...?"_

A long silence was heard after that, and the brunette could of sworn he held his breath along with the two on the phone.

_"...I-I mean...If you don't...Want to do that, I understand..."_

Baraito suddenly laughed for a moment before he spoke. _**"Pardon me, but...It sounds almost as though you are asking me on a date or such. Might I be true with that assumption?"**_

Meito nearly threw the phone down on the receiver right then and there. How dare he say something like that! Mikuo, his buddy Mikuo, was not like that! He knew for a fact!

And this guy had the _nerve_ to go and say that he could be-

_"...Y...Yes...That's...That's what I'm...Asking..."_

After that, Meito didn't hear anything else. Not because they had stopped talking, but because his body felt like it had gone solid.

What? What had Mikuo just said to this...This older, strange sounding guy?

That...No. No, it couldn't be. Hah, he must have drank way too much sake! One bottle really COULD make a guy hallucinate! Haha! This was just some crazy weird made up dream!

And yet, he knew in the back of his mind that it wasn't.

He didn't hang the phone back up until long after the conversation he'd eavesdropped on was over.

Slowly, he stepped back to his room, passing Mikuo's door on the way. _'Just a dream, just a dream.'_ He kept telling himself.

By the time Meito was back on his bed, he'd already accepted that it hadn't been a dream. The question now though, was what was he going to do about it?


	5. Stalking and Spying

**Here's another update. Again, tell me if there are any italic problems.**

--

_Today, I'm going to see Baraito-san somewhere new..._

_At the park, instead of the coffee shop...I guess I just want...A change? But..._

_Is that really all I want to happen?_

_I keep telling myself that it was just a change of place, and it doesn't make us any closer as friends as we already are..._

_But he called it a date...A __date__..._

_Did he mean it...?_

--

All through breakfast that morning, Meito couldn't keep his mind off the conversation he'd heard last night. He'd assumed that Mikuo had found a little girlfriend somewhere to go off and have fun and do whatever with.

Instead, he's been prancing off to talk to this, this...This Baraito guy who sounded like he was ancient! What was up with that!? And then...When they'd talked about a _date_? _What?_

Shaking his head, the brunette didn't look up at Teto or Ted, who were giving him the strangest of looks.

Maybe because he looked terrible from the lack of sleep he'd gotten that night?

"What're _you_ looking at?" He hissed.

"_Someone_got up wrong this morning..." Teto commented, rolling her eyes and dipping her spoon into a bowl of cereal.

Ted didn't say anything, rolling his eyes as well and getting back to reading the paper. Meito was tempted to make some sort of remark towards him, but held his tounge.

Mikuo wasn't in the kitchen, instead choosing to sleep in. Nothing new, it seemed.

That brought a realization to Meito though. Should he tell the other two what he'd heard? Or maybe he should tell Mikuo he knew?

Oh, yeah, that would really go over well.

_"Yeah, I heard you talking on the phone last night and I know you're gay and you have a crush on some old guy that's probably just trying to take advantage of you. It's all good though."_

It wasn't all good at all though.

The problem wasn't that Mikuo was gay, Meito could learn to live with it to some extent. No, the thing was that he hadn't told Meito at all about it. Despite them being best friends who went way back.

Had Mikuo really found no trust in him?

He wouldn't go blabbing around to other people about it, no way! In fact, he'd probably be watching out for Mikuo more to make sure he didn't get himself hurt because of it.

Stomach churning slightly from all of the thoughts muttling in his head, Meito stood up and left the table without a word, his breakfast untouched for a change.

--

It was nearly noon, and Mikuo was still home. Despite acting totally normal, or at least as normal as he could, Meito wondered if he somehow knew that their conversation had been heard.

Laying around on the couch, he pretended to be intensely interested with whatever show was on television, but in reality he didn't care.

A wisp of pinkish hair in a pony tail whooshed over him, and Meito looked up to see Ted.

"I've got work to do today, so don't destroy the house while I'm gone." He shot Meito a look, to which he only got an eye roll.

"Right, like I've ever done that."

"Do I really have to remind you about that house party again?"

"No, I don't want a lecture. Didn't you say you had work?"

The men glared at each other before Ted walked off, grabbing his bag and shutting the front door behind him.

Going back to his channel surfing, Meito waited until he heard footsteps approaching from the hallway. Sure enough, when he glanced up, there was Mikuo. About time...

"Where're you going?" He asked, wondering if Mikuo would tell another lie.

"Um...I'm going to...Uh...Just get a drink of coffee somewhere..."

Typical excuse to hear now.

"We have coffee here, you realize. Whatever Ted makes is better than something from a store." He said this for good measure, however, since he himself actually despised the bitter taste of coffee.

But Mikuo didn't appear to pick up on that little error. "W-Well...I just want to get out and walk a bit...So, um...I'll be back later..."

His feet backed up on their own, towards the door. Instinct was telling him to get out as fast as he could.

"...Alright then. Guess I'll just see you later..."

"Yeah..."

Another second later, the younger boy was out the door.

Left sitting up on the couch, Meito contemplated his choices. Stay here, or follow. Well...

Teto could take of herself, she'd done it before...

Ten minutes of waiting later, he left the house for the park. Time to see who this 'Baraito' was for himself...

--

High in the sky, the sun was shining bright today, which lifted Mikuo's spirits a bit more than they'd been in the last few days.

His heart raced a bit at the thought of seeing Baraito again, and he hoped that today he might finally be able to tell how he felt. Although, it depended on how the rest of today went...

The park was just up ahead by now, and in his head, Mikuo was thinking of what to say, what to talk about.

After all, he didn't want to sound like it had been boring since his last talk with the older male.

However, unknown to him, someone was trailing him from far behind. Watching his every move. Yet, the boy was completely oblivious to it.

Even as he entered the park, the sting of prying eyes failed to become noticeable.

--

Sneaking behind a tree, Meito looked into the entrance of the park just in time to see Mikuo sit down on a bench, next whom he assumed was Baraito.

And did this guy give Meito the creeps.

He was a tall figure, considerably taller than Mikuo, with dark blue hair. He wore something that resembled a suit, and brown dress shoes. What really blew him away was that the man wore a top hat to go along with his rather 'refined' look.

Along the rim of the hat were several red roses, which looked rather real in fact.

A slight shiver went through his body, and Meito sneaked closer still so that he could hear them speak. Dashing behind another tree, he poked his head out again to look at them.

"Ah, I'm pleased to see you made it." Baraito spoke, chuckling again. That chuckle really creeped Meito out, actually.

"I-I wouldn't miss our usual meetings..." Stuttered Mikuo, fidgeting his hands in his lap.

"The park was a considerably different choice than usual, I must say. Any particular reason you chose it?"

A smirk grew across his face, and it could practically be heard even in his voice.

Taking a good look at his now closer view, Meito examined Baraito until he was sure his eyes would bug out. This guy was definatly older than Mikuo! Way older!

The guy had to be older than 20! Maybe even leaning towards 30!

"I...I guess I just...Um..." Again, Mikuo stuttered, looking away as a slight blush decorated his cheeks.

His body tensed up when Baraito's arm extended in front of him, before curling a finger and running it up his chin. "How nervous you seem today..." He chuckled.

"U-Uh! I-I am...? I didn't...Um...Notice...I..." Mikuo's body shook slightly, cheeks growing ever hot.

Zipping behind the tree, it took all of Meito's willpower to keep him from jumping out right then and there.

This guy, who was at least double Mikuo's age and height, was _flirting _with him. He was _flirting_with Meito's best friend!!

_'I don't believe it!! He's...He's a pedophile!! He has to be!! Mikuo's totally falling for this guy's act!!'_

Clenching his fist, the brunette slowly glanced out of his hiding spot again.

Now, this time around, Baraito had a hand running through Mikuo's mint-green hair, twirling and un-twirling the locks on one finger. The scene almost made him sick to watch.

"B-Baraito-san...W-Why're you..."

"Did you not say yourself last night that this was a...date?" He stated the word as if it were strange. Like it was in a foreign language he had never quite finished learning.

Gazing down at his feet, Mikuo felt as though he were getting dizzy.

"I-I guess I said that...But...Did I really? I mean...I think I did, but...Wait...Um..." He shook his head and felt himself sweat a bit.

He was making a complete idiot of himself like this, repeating his words and stuttering like he had Tourettes or something.

Baraito slowly took his hand off the mop of hair he'd held and slipped away, instead turning to look at some flowers growing the grass nearby.

"Perhaps a topic change is in order? I must say...Speaking is not the only way in which we must express words."

The younger boy turned to him slightly, fidgeting again. "I-It's not...?"

"Oh, most certainly not. Words can be written, or drawn in pictures. Words can be said in a multitude of ways. Why..." He paused a moment, plucking a flower from the ground.

"Why, people once expressed unspeakable feelings and desires by sending flowers to one another. They called such a langauge the 'Langauge of Flowers.' Simply wonderful, is it not? The Earth itself can speak to one so very easily..."

"I...I guess that is...Pretty amazing, actually..." Lifting his head, the blush across Mikuo's face slowly receded.

"Whole books have been created to help us learn that language...If you wish, Mikuo-kun, I will lend you one of those books so that we may communicate as such. Do you wish to try it?"

Behind the tree, Meito hoped that Mikuo would say no to whatever the creep was asking, but as it turned out, Mikuo said yes instead.

_'That idiot! Doesn't he know that he's being used?!'_

"Very well then, I shall give you one of my books tomorrow. We are meeting at our spot, yes?" For what seemed to Meito like the fifteenth time, Baraito chuckled after his sentence, after seeing Mikuo's look.

"O-Our spot?"

"Yes, our seat at the coffee shop. It's been our personal spot for quite some time now, you realize."

"Right...I just...Kinda forgot..."

Baraito merely gave a laugh and patted him on the head. "You will understand soon enough, my friend. Soon enough..."

There was a moment of silence, before Meito heard one of the two stand up, and he immediately pulled back behind the tree to hide himself.

"I must cut our time short, I'm afraid. I have some business to attend to elsewhere. Forgive me, but I assure you I will have plenty of time tomorrow to speak with you."

A look of disappointment replaced the small smile on Mikuo's face. He wouldn't be able to tell him this time...

"O-Okay, Baraito-san...It was...It was good to see you again..."

"Oh, you make it sound as if you haven't seen me in years." He chuckled.

_'It feels that way...'_Mikuo thought, but he didn't speak.

"Enjoy the freedom you have today. It is a rather wonderful day, I suggest you use the time wisely." Twirling another lock of green hair momentarily, Baraito said his goodbyes and Mikuo said his own.

Meito left before he could be spotted, zigzagging between bushes and trees in a panic.

--

By the time Mikuo returned home, Meito had managed to beat him there, replacing himself in the kitchen with a cola and a sandwich in his hands.

"You're back earlier than usual." He said to Mikuo, hiding his fast heartbeat.

Walking to the fridge, Mikuo gave him a small glance. "I just didn't feel very good to stay out..."

"Sick, are you? You better not be getting sick on us."

The goofy Meito he was trying to be was just a facade for now.

"No...I'm tired, that's all..." Plucking some leeks out of the fridge, Mikuo walked into the living room and sat on the couch, ignoring Meito's stare.

The brunette didn't follow him, but his mind did.

All he could think of was the man that Mikuo had met. The man whom seemed so nice, but Meito could feel the undertone of lust beneath him, he could just feel it.

_'He's going to hurt him if I don't stop him...What am I supposed to do though? Mikuo will kill me if he finds out I know...But it's for his own good...'_

Shaking his head, he bit down into the sandwich and took the longest swig of cola he'd managed to drink in one standing.

_'I have to get that creep away from him.'_


	6. Not So Careful Planning

**I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I've been sick recently, and have had terrible writers block. Because of that, this chapter maybe be a little...off. I promise the next chapter however to be much, much better. Please enjoy!**

--

Tonight, there was surprisingly a lack of phone conversation between Mikuo and his older 'friend' of sorts. Any other day, Meito would have been overjoyed by this and slept in peace.

Instead, he was stuck tossing and turning from side to side, mind entangled with thoughts of what he'd seen that day.

Certainly it was not normal for a 16 year old boy to be meeting a 30 something year old man in the park, and lying about where he was going to his best friend just to cover up for it.

This guy...Baraito, his name was? Baraito seemed off to Meito in too many ways to count.

It was hard enough, accepting that Mikuo wasn't into girls -he'd put on a pretty good act then when he and Meito went out to pick up girls at clubs- but to know that Mikuo was 'in love' with this guy?

It was sick! Sick! Entirely sick!

Sitting up in bed, the brunette groaned to himself as a slight headache began to invade his sinuses.

He wanted to tell Mikuo that he knew about the whole thing, and that he was crazy, and didn't he know he was just being some messed up freak's play toy?

At the same time though, that stupid nagging voice in the back of his mind was saying _not_to tell Mikuo. Perhaps because of the consequences it could have?

Ugh, too much to think about!!

Abandoning the idea of sleep, Meito trudged over to his desk, turned on the lamp and got out a pencil and paper.

The older teenager began making a small chart, writing 'Tell Him' on one side, and 'Don't Tell Him' on the other. It reminded him of the charts Ted sometimes made for his work, only the options were always 'Put Books Here' or 'Don't Put Books Here'.

Tapping the pencil on his cheek, he thought a moment before filling in the charts.

By the time he was finished, he'd come up with the following.

--

_If Meito told Mikuo that he knew about his being gay and liking this older man, Mikuo would most likely try to deny it, and then wind up never talking to Meito again._

_Not to mention, if Teto and Ted were to find out about it, they surely wouldn't approve any of it._

_That might be good though, Meito didn't like having to figure this all out on his own._

_But then, he also didn't want to lose his best friend because he'd pried into business that wasn't his own_.

--

_On the other hand, if he didn't say a word, there were a number of things that could happen then._

_If Baraito was just as Meito was imagining, he would take total advantage of Mikuo's innocent nature. He could get him to do just about anything if he tried!_

_And Mikuo would do it because he was just that easy to intimidate! Especially if he actually believed that he'd fallen for this guy!_

_Just the very idea made Meito turn green with nausea. This guy could...He could take Mikuo's innocence from him, in fact..._

--

Even after looking through the lists at least five times, Meito still didn't have his answer on what to do.

Shutting off the lamp and falling back on his bed, he decided after almost a half hour of thinking that he would trail Mikuo again when he left tomorrow morning.

If he couldn't say anything, he would at least take action.

--

By the time it was dawn, Meito was sure he hadn't slept for more than an hour that entire night. But he didn't care, as he needed to hike himself out of bed, throw on some clothes and watch for Mikuo's leaving.

Or better yet, if he was early enough, he could stop him from going at all. Yeah, that was it!

With a new invigoration to him, he went running out of his room...

...Only to round into the living room too fast, and hit Ted, who had just grabbed his morning cup of coffee.

The two connected with unbalanced force, Meito toppling over onto his side as Ted fell on his back, the coffee spilling over his chest with a painful burn.

"AUGH! DAMN IT, MEITO!!" He normally wasn't much of the cursing type, but it isn't exactly pleasant to have scorching hot coffee poured all over you at eight in the morning. And most especially when it was Meito Sakine's fault.

Rolling away from Ted quickly, Meito tumbled into the back of the couch before jumping fast into a standing position.

Ted pulled himself up fast, practically ripping his top off as the hot coffee sank further in and touched his skin. It took all Meito's strength not to laugh as the older male squirmed uncomfortably around, body jerking in every direction until he'd finally slipped the shirt and jacket off of him.

It was a new sight, really. Ted was actually quite modest when it came to the others, and he wasn't one to go and compare anything bodily like Mikuo and Meito had done any countless number of times before.

Breathing hard, the pink-haired Kasane checked himself over. Various splotches of red adorned his chest and stomach area, a painful sensation of burning and stinging causing him to wince.

"Meito...I swear, I will _kill_ you..." His voice dripped with venom, eyes glaring at the brunette.

Thinking it best not to stay here any longer, Meito fled to the kitchen as fast as his legs could take him. He could hear Ted attempting to try and run after him, but the burns he'd sustained only made him wince and give up.

Phew, he was lucky that time.

Or perhaps he should consider it unlucky?

His life was pretty much sucking as it was anyway so far.

Seriously, his best friend is seeing a creepy guy, his 'rent' payer as it were was pissed off at him, and who knows what Teto would plan on doing to him for making her brother angry?

Groaning to himself, Meito stole a soda from the fridge and was just about to break the tab off it when he felt the back of his shirt being wadded up in a hot fist.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

Oh.

Crap.

Teto caught him.

"You thought you could just get away with getting coffee all over Ted-san's new clothes? You're such a fool!"

The little pink head sounded -and looked- like she was ready to rip off his head clean from his neck. Clasping his hands together, the bumbling brunette could only pray as hard as he could that his funeral would not be within the week.

"Let him go, Teto." Spoke Ted sternly, walking into the kitchen while taking his clothes to the sink to wringe them out as best he could.

"B-But Ted-san! He-"

"I have a better idea on what to do with him."

"Oh...Are you gonna kick him out?"

Listening to these two was like listening to a political debate, and yet Meito couldn't run out on it. Ted would catch him at the door.

And besides, Teto still had an iron grip on him. He wasn't going anywhere.

Teto's suggestion gave Ted a good laugh before he shook his head. "No. He's going to come and work with me for a day. Isn't that right, Meito?" An evil grin spread over the man's face.

The brunette half wished Teto had just killed him then and there. Working? In a library? With _Ted?_ "...You're joking, right?" He gave a nervous laugh.

"I'm not joking. Either you come with me, or I'll think up something even worse. It's your choice." How cynical he could be sometimes...

Terrified at the thought of an even worse kind of punishment, Meito sank to his knees in defeat, but not without giving a growl of distaste at the taller male looming over him now. "Augh...Fine...You win...But-"

"Make him buy you new clothes too!" Teto chimed in. Her little canine teeth poked out like a vampire's when her brother's offender gave her a scowl. It was fun to torment him! And after all, she couldn't pick on Mikuo because he wasn't any fun with it. He didn't fight back like Meito did.

"Right. You work with me, _and_ you owe me an outfit. Now get up and put on something...better." Ted pointed a finger at him.

This couldn't be happening to him! Not today! If he was stuck with this stupid book sorting job, he wouldn't be able to trail Mikuo unless he miraculously ended up going to the library or something!

"I-I can't though!" He protested.

"And why not?" Ted cocked an eyebrow.

"...I have something more important to do!" That _had_ to work...!

"I don't recall you ever having a job. Unless it involved flirting with every woman in your sight. Or sitting your lazy ass on the couch all day long. Then maybe I would think that were true, if there were really a job like that. But there isn't, so get up and do something for a change."

Well, that excuse failed miserably.

Before he could say another word, Teto dragged him across the floor, back down the hallway and towards his bedroom. "Get dressed for Ted-san!"

Kicking open the door, the smaller girl literally threw him onto his mattress with a loud thud.

"I don't want to do this! I can't!" Meito sputtered and yelled as much as he could. But Teto just closed the door behind her, leaving him alone with his voice resonating throughout the room.

Why did fate hate him so much?

--

Having changed into a more appropriate outfit, Ted watched as his sister dragged Meito back out from his room, the brunette trying to finish tightening his belt while Teto giggled with a sense of glee.

Although it was tempting to tell her to quit with such antics, he found it hard to tell off someone with such a childish outlook, and instead allowed her to keep tugging Meito away.

Coming to the end of the hallway, Ted brought his hand up and knocked lightly on Mikuo's door.

When he didn't get answer, he tried again and waited until the door creaked open to reveal a figure with messy green-blue hair and wrinkled sweatpants.

"Good morning, Mikuo." He greeted as he always did.

"Mornin'..." He got back in reply. The teenager looked as though he'd slept on a log, but Ted didn't say anything about it. He was too busy concealing his amused look.

"Sorry for waking you so early, but I thought you should know that we're all going to be gone today." He paused a moment. "Er, I hope that'll be alright. Meito has to come with me to make up for something, and Teto's probably coming with, so..."

Still half asleep, it took Mikuo a minute to register what he'd just heard, then process it through his mind.

He didn't like being all alone, by himself. But then, on the other hand, he could leave quickly to see Baraito, and...

"That's fine..." He mumbled quietly. "I can take care of myself..."

Ted looked relieved at this. "Glad you're alright with it, then. We'll probably be gone just until the afternoon or around then, so-"

"Ted-san! Ted-san! Hurry up! He keeps trying to escape!"

"I'm coming!" With a sigh, he looked back at Mikuo and gave him a smile. "Lock up the house if you go. See you later!" Rushing down the hallway, Ted grabbed up his coat and ran for the door.

Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Mikuo leaned out the door slightly to see if he could spot the others, but was only given the sound of the front door shutting.

Then, silence.

He was all alone now...The house was all his for the time being.

This realization jolted Mikuo awake right away. No sneaking or hoping that he could turn invisable. No more of that for an entire day.

That was just...That was just great...!!

Smiling to himself, Mikuo immediately began preparing for his day.

--

A quick shower, some clean clothes, a thrown-together yet tasty breakfast...

He was ready to go out and enjoy life for as long as he could today. Snatching up the house key on the table next to the door, Mikuo was just about to head for the coffeehouse.

But as soon as he swung open the front door, Mikuo found something he hadn't expected to see on his doorstep.

Or rather, some_one_.

"...You..."

"Good morning, Mikuo-kun. Are you surprised to see me?"


	7. Language of Actions

"I do hope that this is a good time to come and see you." Baraito spoke quietly, eyes shifting to look behind the shorter boy for any sign of unwanted company. Surely the last thing either of them wanted was to be found out.

"I-It's fine...I just...I wasn't expecting you to come...H-How did you even know where I lived?" Mikuo's jaw felt as though it were heavy, mouth wide open in a perpetual look of awe. It was actually a bit funny to look at it, if you were to stare at it long enough.

Baraito merely chuckled and reached out, patting his friend's head and ruffling up his hair a bit.

"Do you not know? I have eyes all over." He joked. "I can see what you are doing at any given time, at any given place."

The look of shock upon Mikuo's face almost made Baraito give a real laugh for once, but he suppressed it.

He didn't wish to make the boy feel as though he were the butt of the joke itself.

"Ah...No, I am joking. I simply noticed one day that you took this street on your way home, and once I saw those three friends of yours leave, I saw they matched the descriptions you'd told me about. And as I have free time...I thought I would save you the time by coming here personally to see you."

Hearing his words made Mikuo's heart race a bit faster, pounding against his chest until it was loud enough to fill his ears. How could no one else hear it?

"W-Well...Thank you...Baraito-san...Y-You can come in then...No one's home right now..." He stuttered.

Moving swiftly to the side, he opened the door a bit further to allow his guest to come in.

It was only when Baraito stepped inside did Mikuo notice that he was carrying a small bag at his side. "W-What's that, Baraito-san...?" He questioned.

The taller male smirked a bit and didn't speak a word, instead walking further into the house without aid. Already filled with nervousness, Mikuo ran ahead to catch up with him.

"A-Are you hungry? It's so early...I-I could make you something to eat! It wouldn't be any t-trouble at all..."

Entering the kitchen, his eyes stared at the bag as it was set on the table. For a moment, Mikuo was frozen in his spot, until he noticed Baraito standing patiently where he was. As if expecting something.

"S-Sorry!" He apologized hurriedly, pulling a chair out and almost giving a gesture of bowing. Baraito gave a light-hearted chuckle at this and sat down.

"No, you need not apologize. Though, a meal would be pleasant...I am quite famished, in fact."

"R-Right! I'll get on that!"

It wasn't until Mikuo turned around to look at what he had to work with, that he remembered the unfortunate truth: He knew next to nothing about cooking a decent meal.

Sure, he could make sandwiches, and if he were lucky, whip up the occasional batch of chocolate chip cookies.

But cooking a full fledged meal for an expecting guest? He was clueless.

And he had promised.

Now, he was at a loss.

"Is there something troubling you, Mikuo-kun?"

Mikuo jumped a foot in the air, startled as he felt a tap on his back with the accompanied voice. "Y-Yes! I mean, no! I mean, I don't know!!"

Cheeks growing red with embarrassment, he swore he could hear Baraito laughing at him softly. Why was he so tense? Why had he gone and had to do that? Why couldn't he have listened to Teto's lessons on cooking? Why-

"Pardon me, did I startle you? You are trembling all over..."

Glancing up as best he could in his embarrassed state, Mikuo found just the tiniest bit of worry in Baraito's eyes. It was something that was uncommon to see, but he found it a bit comforting, actually. To know he actually cared like he did...

"Mikuo-kun?" Baraito pressed on again.

"...Y-Yeah, you startled me...B-But I'm fine now! Really..." He twiddled his fingers together and looked away once again.

"You still seem troubled...Come now, tell me what is wrong. If you do not feel up to cooking at this moment..."

"I-I can do it!" He assured. "Really, I can!"

"Are you sure?"

"...No...I'm not sure...I-I really don't know how to cook all that way...I'm sorry..." Mikuo felt his heart sink. He didn't want to seem like he was in adept in Baraito's eyes. It was hard enough with how he felt already...

"Is that all?" The male's look of worry turned into a sympathetic smile. "Do not fret over such a thing. You do not need to think of something complex to pleasure my palette. I need only something simple that will allow me some sustenance. That is much easier for you to handle, yes?"

Baraito watched the younger boy nod timidly, still trying to keep away from eye contact.

Turning around and walking for the cupboards, Mikuo scoured around to find something, anything at all that would at least please him just a bit...

--

"Ah...That felt rather good. Thank you, Mikuo-kun. I do hope I am not being troublesome in my requests."

"N-No...It's not troublesome at all..." The aqualette's eyes were concentrated still on the bag set on top of the table. It didn't take long for Baraito to notice this.

Pulling it over, he offered it to Mikuo with an outstretched arm. "Go on, go on. Look inside. I brought this as a present to you." He took the liberty of pulling out the chair next to him in offer for Mikuo to sit on, which the boy took.

Curiosity tugging at him more than ever, Mikuo eagerly peeled it open and pulled out a small book, as well as a stem covered with budding purple petals. "W-What is..." He stammered, studying the flower.

"This is what I promised you. Did I not say I would give you my special book on the Language of Flowers? Well, I have kept that promise close to heart. And, this is what I give you. I do hope you and I can put some good use into it."

"Then...That's what this flower is for...?" He asked cautiously, still examining the long stem.

"Yes. This flower is my first message to you, and it is a true message as well." Taking the book from Mikuo's hands, Baraito quickly turned it to a specific page. As though he had memorized it by heart. "You will find it's meaning right here..." He pointed.

Holding the flower close to his chest, the Hatsune glanced at the page and read what it said.

_"The purple lilac is a flower symbolizing the first emotions one experiences when they have fallen within the boundaries of true love with another individual. These emotions may be hidden from the one whom affections have grown for, but they remain strong and full of fervor as time goes on."_

For the longest time, Mikuo stood silently and re-read the entry once. Twice. Three times even. And each time, his chest felt lighter and lighter. As though a bird were fluttering closer to his lips until he could take it no longer.

"B...Baraito-san...This...Does this mean...That you..." His eyes brimmed over with tears, whether of happiness, or the fear of possibly being wrong, he couldn't tell any more.

With a tiny smile playing at his lips, the blue-haired man nodded and reached to caress a hand over the younger boy's cheek. He couldn't remember a time where he had felt so...happy. So joyous. It simply was unfathomable to him for it to occur.

"I have felt quite a few...'Stirrings' since we first met. I am sure you have felt them just as I have. After yesterday, when we referred to it a bit as a...'date'...I simply couldn't leave the feelings alone any longer. I hope you are comfortable with this, Mikuo-kun. If I am wrong with what I thought was true...You need only tell me and I will refrain..."

Half of Baraito's words didn't even register in Mikuo's mind. All he could think of was this flower, and what it meant.

His heart skipped a beat, then went over a mile a minute.

"...Your quietness concerns me. Please, if this is too much, I-"

Before he could speak another word, Baraito found himself being pulled down before having his lips crushed in a stolen kiss.

The tears in Mikuo's eyes finally released themselves in steady streams down his cheeks, but he forgot all about them.

He forgot they were in the kitchen, where they could be caught.

He forgot eleven year age difference.

He forgot that he wasn't supposed to love a male, and one who was so different from himself.

But most of all, he forgot all about the very possibility that perhaps Baraito didn't love him after all.

All of the doubt just seemed to dissapear, leaving behind only the two of them, connected together by this one kiss.

The first few seconds, Baraito's eyes widened with shock, and his body tensed in slight fear, but he quickly relaxed into the feeling before closing his eyes and returning the gesture by deepening the kiss just the slightest bit.

Body shuddering with pleasure, Mikuo's arms subconsciously rested themselves on the taller male's shoulders, wrapping themselves gently around his neck.

Everything about the world around them melted away, and such a feeling gave both of them the sensation of sparks pulsating throughout their bodies. Neither one nor the other knew how long they remained in that position, but it took a moment to realized they had even stopped when they did.

With flushed cheeks and breath heavy, Mikuo's eyes trained onto Baraito's recovering figure. He seemed just as lost in the moment.

"B...Baraito-san...I..." It was hard to speak after such an event, but he struggled anyway. He wanted to say it, right now. Before anything else could happen that might change his mind.

His voice was hushed quickly, however, as finger pressed itself to his lips.

With a slight firm look, Baraito shook his head. "Not yet, Mikuo-kun. Not just yet." A hint of sadness was in his voice.

This sent a small boil of rage through the teenager. If he could muster up enough courage to kiss Baraito right then and there, why wasn't he allowed to say the words that had been bottled up inside him for so long?

Pushing his hand away, Mikuo gave a small growl. "Why can't I? Why can't I say it when I mean it?"

"Because..." Baraito began, then stopped. This made him more upset.

"Because why? Tell me why I can't! I've wanted to do what we just did for so long, and now I can't say it out loud? Tell me why I can't do that!" His voice raised loudly.

"Mikuo-kun, I-"

"Tell me why I can't say that I love you!!"

His scream resonated throughout the house, echoing back at him and repeating a few times before silence came between them.

Suddenly he felt regretful. Felt as though he had just ruined it all by demanding so much in so little time.

How selfish he was.

It took what strength he had left to hold back the choked sob that threatened to escape.

He couldn't cry, wouldn't cry. Not now, not in front of him.

Above him, a sigh left Baraito's lips, and he spoke. "Mikuo, this was the reason why I did not want to say it. Because I do not want to rush into this too quickly. You are still so young and I...Well, I am not. I do not wish to bring pain upon your heart by the possibility that this may not work..."

"...Then..." He choked back another sob. "You don't...You don't love me back then..."

The flower, the kiss, the words...Had he really been just lead on to believe that?

He felt his chin being cupped by gentle fingers, and Mikuo found himself being forced to look up directly at Baraito's face. He looked angered, though the tiniest bit of hurt could be detected if one were to observe very hard.

"I did not say that, did I? I didn't want to say it because I was thinking of what was best for you. If I were to hurt you, Mikuo, I would not be able to forgive myself, nor face you. But if you insist so much upon it, I have no choice but to say it. I love you too."

Without giving any chance for protest, Baraito dragged Mikuo towards him and again, kissed him as deeply as he could.

If the boy wasn't going to believe his words, he could at least believe his actions.

Closing his eyes, the blue-haired man tugged harder until he had the boy sitting in his lap practically.

Maybe they stayed that way for a minute, or an hour, or a whole day.

But whatever it was, Baraito vowed in that amount of time that he wouldn't let Mikuo down...


	8. Luck Amuck

By the time all of the 'roommates' from the household had gotten back, Baraito had since been long gone. As much as the older man wished to stay and spend all the time he could with Mikuo, the prospect of getting caught was not in his best interest.

Instead, he found it better to simply leave at the soonest possible time before the others had a chance to even so much as call the house to check in with the aqualette. He promised to come back again, and perhaps to bring more flowers with him the next time he did so.

This brought a smile to Mikuo's face, and before Baraito could run off to wherever his destination was, the boy tugged on the older male's arm and pulled him into another kiss right there in the kitchen.

Only after that was he allowed to leave.

The house was certainly more quiet without anyone to talk to, and his mind was still set upon the day they'd just spent together. With so much in mind, Mikuo crashed himself upon the couch so as not to arouse suspicion when the others came home.

That didn't seem to make Meito feel any less uncomfortable however. After finally being let go by Teto and Ted for 'serving his full punishement', he'd been allowed to go home earlier than the two for once.

As soon as the brunette came walking in the door, his eyes shifted left and right in search of any sign that someone else had been there.

He could see his pal sitting on the couch innocently, like nothing had occurred at all in the last few hours.

Maybe it hadn't after all.

"What's going on?" He asked, strutting over to the couch and looming over the younger boy.

"N-Nothing, why do you ask?" Was the closest to a real reply he could get.

With a shake of his head, Meito walked out of the living and headed for his own bedroom, one hand clenching his arm where Teto had so nicely thrown a dictionary that had to be at least two thousand, no, three thousand pages long at him.

Why had the day treated him so badly, anyway?

It wasn't like he'd cursed someone out, although he'd done that plenty when he was drunk. He hadn't hurt anyone, maybe just a few friendly punches here and there.

As he continued down the hallway and past the various doors, Meito stopped very suddenly in his tracks.

Mikuo's bedroom door was ajar.

Just the very slightest.

It was nothing, nothing at all. Just keep walking, ignore it, keep walking, keep-

Curiosity got the better half of him, and the brunette shifted his eyes to look back the way he came. No one was watching...

Trying not to make a sound, Meito crept towards the door and poked it open with one finger before peeking inside.

The room didn't look any different than it usually did. Clothes strewn on the floor, closet door open, bed made...

Wait, on the bed. There was something sitting in the middle of the blanket. Another glance behind his shoulder, and the male went inside to investigate. What he found was a semi-large book, entitled "The Language of Flowers."

Ugh, a book...He'd seen enough books for today.

But then again, why did _Mikuo_ of all people have a book like this? He knew for a fact that the boy was not a planter, especially considering that little incident involving leeks...

Just before he could reach down to take it however, the sound of footsteps coming up the hall grabbed his attention.

Crap! If Mikuo caught him he would have to find an explanation, and there certainly wasn't a very good one that he could find just from glancing around the room.

Or worse, if Teto or Ted had trailed him home, and _they_ found him, and _they _told Mikuo...

Turning his head rapidly in every which way, Meito searched for a hiding place. The closet! No, no, Mikuo would probably look in there! Behind the door! No, no, no! That would never work!

As the footsteps grew closer and closer, there seemed to be no other options.

Mikuo stepped inside just moments after a red blur had thrown itself beneath his bed.

Breathing hard for a moment, Meito quickly covered his mouth to stop any unneeded noise. He had to stay hidden until Mikuo left, or he had an opening to hurry out from under the bed, dash for the door and get out before the aqualette could even turn around.

The first idea sounded much more likely of happening.

Crouching all the way down the floor wasn't hard, since the bed just had to be so low to the floor that Meito should thank his lucky stars that there was even enough room to hide in such a place.

His line of vision didn't go too far. The bottom of the door could be seen closing with a quiet slam, and two familier grey shoes stumbled across the floor just a few feet away.

"That was too close..." Mikuo's voice spoke from above, "But, I'm happy I got to see Baraito-san again..."

_'He was here?! In our house!?'_ Meito felt himself tense up. How dare he, how _dare_ that guy just waltz into their house like that!!

Those thoughts were interrupted as a huge weight suddenly pressed itself against his back, and it took all his strength not to yell out. Glancing to the side, he could see those two gray shoes now dangling from the side of mattress. Well, it was no wonder this weight was on him.

Mikuo was sitting on top of the bed, and in effect, he was sitting on top of Meito.

Wriggling uncomfortably, he found it no use to try and struggle. He was pinned beneath Mikuo's bed with no way of getting out.

If that wasn't bad enough, the weight shifted around from his back to his neck and head as well as Mikuo moved to lay on his stomach on the bed. Immediatly, he felt a cramp forming where his neck and shoulder bones met.

What God had he offended to do this to him?

Oblivious to the little spy, Mikuo crossed his legs in the air and flipped the book open to study it a bit more.

So many flowers, each with a different meaning. Sometimes it was the color of the flower that mattered. Sometimes it was the number of petals plucked off.

To him, none of them seemed to compare with the seemingly innocent lilac that Baraito had offered him.

Such emotions it conveyed...It was all that was needed to give him the courage to tell the older man how much he cared for him and wanted to be with him.

Even now, a small ache was in Mikuo's chest. If only the others could have come back much later. If only he'd spoken more while Baraito was there. If only he could have impressed him with a better meal.

All these thoughts and more didn't wish to fade in his mind.

Letting a small sigh leave his lips, he closed his eyes and spoke to himself. "Next time...Next time, I'll be the one giving him a flower..."

The prospect of doing so worried him though. What if he gave the wrong flower by mistake? What if he misread and the message he gave was something horrible?

What if, what if...

Mikuo reached and held his forehead. He was getting a headache from so much thinking and groaned because of it.

Below him, Meito shuddered at the sound and tried to piece together what might have happened.

So wait, wait...

This Baraito guy came here. He gave Mikuo that book? Or no, Mikuo could have bought it himself during one of his outings. Well, whatever.

Anyway, that book, it was called The Language of Flowers? Apparently flowers had messages? Weird...But judging by what Mikuo had said, Baraito had given him one.

And clearly, Mikuo had enjoyed it. Enjoyed it enough to want to give one back.

It was all getting out of hand now! His best friend was eating out of this guy's hand practically!

He wouldn't accept it, couldn't accept it, no way, no how! There had to be a way to stop it all!

Of course, before that could be figured out, Meito had to find a way out from under this _bed_ first.

The weight shifted again, in a way that his neck and head felt free. Mikuo was sitting up now, eyes open and full of thought.

"If he comes tomorrow, I should get a flower right now!"

Mikuo most likely jumped off the bed, because Meito felt his back crack as the weight jumped off with a spring in it's step, right on top of his spine, and he heard the thud of Mikuo landing on the ground.

Pages were heard flipping overhead, in search of the perfect flower.

A few moments later, wordlessly, Meito heard footsteps run from the bed, turning his head in time to see Mikuo dash out the door.

He didn't waste a second in getting out of there, though in his rush he only succeeded in banging his head on the bottom of the mattress board before crawling out with a pulsating headache. This was not his day, not at all...

Gathering himself up as best he could, he stood while holding his bruised head before glancing over at the book, still laying open on the bed.

Should he get rid of it? That would be the best thing to do. Mikuo would only use it to give flowers to Baraito.

Hold on here...

If Baraito understood these so called 'messages' just as well as Mikuo...

And if Mikuo took these 'messages' so close to heart...

For one of the most recent, but certainly not first times in his life, a sinister grin crept across the brunette's face. The sort of grin that one gets when they have pulled a heinous prank on someone, or when the hero has found a hole in the villain's plan.

He plucked the book off the bed and strode out, still wearing that grin.

It was time for Meito Sakine to play the messenger.


	9. Heinous Plot

_I...I want to give Baraito-san something special...Something that will make him understand how I really feel. I really feel that...That this is more than just love..._

_How will I say that to him though?_

_It's just...It's just not something you can say easily and h-hope that they get..._

_B-But...I think I found it..._

_I think I found the best one...The perfect one..._

_I can't stop feeling nervous though...What if he...What if he takes it the wrong way? I don't want to rush into things, but I want to show him how much I already love him..._

_I'll have to hope...That's all I can do is hope that he feels the same..._

_I don't want him to come to me and say that...That yesterday..._

_That it was a mistake..._

--

Mikuo didn't come back home until late in the evening. By then, Ted was sitting in the armchair while channel surfing -something he only did if he was stressed out, or if he had actually finished all his work for the night- and Teto was sitting on the couch nearby while playing with a video game.

Meito was no where in sight.

"Where have you been?" Ted asked, turning to look at him while resting his chin on one hand. He seemed a little cross. "I thought you were going to watch over the house while we were gone today."

Hiding the bag behind his back, Mikuo nodded quickly. "I-I did, but I had to go out a-and buy something. Meito was home too, so I just thought-"

"But Meito wasn't home..." Teto interveaned, not looking up from her game.

This was a surprise to Mikuo. Meito hadn't been here?

"He was here when I left..." He stuttered nervously. Ted just glared at him a bit.

"Well, he wasn't here when _we_ got home. And he was stupid enough to leave the door unlocked, too."

Racking his mind for an answer, he tried to come up with a solution. Maybe Meito had assumed that he'd been home still and left anyway? He felt a bit guilty, too. He'd thought Meito was around and left the door unlocked. But if Meito left before him, wasn't it his fault? Or what if he left after? Technically, he still should have locked it even when assuming Mikuo was home. But Mikuo hadn't done the same to him, so...

Augh, this was giving him a headache!

Bowing his head slightly, all he could give was a soft apology. "S-Sorry..."

Ted just shook his head at the younger male and turned back to the screen that was currently showing a movie about mobsters. Teto seemed to let out a light giggle as she played around with the game. No matter how old she was, she acted like a kid at heart.

They were all lucky to have Ted around, Mikuo thought as he walked to his room, because he seemed to be the only one who could put up with Teto, Meito and himself while still having a sense of sanity.

Part of him had wanted to try and get a job so he could help with the income. It had to be hard on Ted after all, trying to earn money for four people at once.

What job would be good though, he wasn't sure.

Stepping inside his room, it occurred to Mikuo that Baraito had never once mentioned any sort of a job or way of income.

Not that he'd ever asked about it, but still. Baraito didn't talk about how he earned the money for these flowers he talked of, or of the elegant objects he supposedly possessed. Inheritance had been his best guess, but it never really had come to mind until now that Baraito honestly knew more about Mikuo than Mikuo knew about him.

Suddenly, he had many more questions he wished to ask.

What did Baraito do for work?

Where did he live?

Did he always have to go so fast at that coffeehouse because he was on a break or something?

What sort of things did he do when he wasn't talking with Mikuo?

All of these questions, and not one answer for any of them. And the more that came, the more clear it became that, realistically, Mikuo knew nothing about Baraito.

Quietly, he sat on his bed and tried to not let the darker questions come to mind.

What _did_ he know?

He knew his name was Baraito. He knew he had dark blue hair and beautiful, lighter blue eyes. He knew that every time he had met with the man, he was wearing the same outfit of a top hat, a suit of sorts and brown dress shoes.

Did appearences count though? What else was there?

He knew...What?

That before the day at the park, he could find Baraito at the same coffeehouse, at the same booth everyday for an amount of time that stretched between ten minutes and an hour, depending on some sort of schedule.

That he had a liking for flowers, as evidenced by the book, and the lilac.

That he knew where Mikuo and his friends lived.

That he was the most amazing kisser Mikuo had ever laid lips on.

Remembering the moment made a hot, deep blush come over his cheeks. Maybe he knew a little about Baraito, but not enough to satisfy him anymore.

He needed to learn more about the male. To learn every little detail that could be of interest to him.

Mikuo lay himself down on the bed, the bag still clenched in his hand. His mind was restless now, tormenting him with questions. Only these questions weren't as nice to know as where one worked or what one's hobbies were.

These were dark. Revealing. Terrifying to him.

It hadn't really crossed his mind that Baraito could have simply not told him something just so that he could be with him.

Possibly, Mikuo wasn't the only one whom had been given such affection.

For all he knew, Baraito could have given dozens of flowers to dozens of others like himself. He didn't wish to believe such a thing, but there was no way to escape the fact that it could be the truth.

He, Mikuo Hatsune, could be just a toy. A pawn in a game.

No, no, no!

Baraito loved him! He'd said so himself! He'd _kissed_ him!

It wasn't enough now, though. It just wasn't enough.

His fist clenched tightly around the bag in his hand. Tears stung at the back of his eyes, but the teen refused to give in. He wouldn't cry over it, he would be strong.

To himself, he vowed that the next time Baraito and him had enough time for a talk, he would ask these questions.

Then he would decide what to do.

--

Meito came home a few minutes after Mikuo, and judging by the way Ted was chewing him out right now, he knew Mikuo hadn't exactly persuaded him to pardon the two of anything.

Then again, of course he would pardon Mikuo. Ted thought Mikuo was the angel between the two of them. Meito on the other hand? He was a coffee-spilling, suit-ruining, terrible book-sorting, drunken devil.

And that was just putting it _nicely_.

But eventually, Teto grew tired of her older brother's yelling and told him in her sweet-but-very-sinister-behind-it-voice that if he didn't stop, she would make sure there was a bucket of water over his door the next day.

She was more of a devil than himself, Meito thought. It wasn't always him who pulled the pranks. More often or not, it was Teto.

Not to say that they've had a few truces and teamed up for fun around April Fool's Day, which also happened to be her and Ted's birthday. All the same, without the truces they were at each other otherwise.

When he could finally sneak away, Meito darted for his bedroom and shut the door as fast as he could, leaning against it while holding a bag in his hand much like Mikuo had.

Going to the bed, he collapsed in a tired heap.

If someone were to ask how he'd done what he had, he had no way to answer. How could he possibly describe the effort it had taken to read that book, look for a flower, try to get to the flower shop without Mikuo spotting him, and get back before anyone could raise suspicion?

It hadn't exactly gone as planned, but either way the ingrediants that his little plot needed were all in place now. Setting the bag down on the bed, Meito brushed a few bangs out of his face and smirked at the contents.

Now he just needed to wait for tomorrow to come...

--

And come it did.

Meito had to force himself into waking up early for his plan to work. Though he got out of his room, clad in the usual black pants and red vest in record time, it only caused him to walk into trouble.

Teto and Ted were apparently arguing. Over what, he wasn't sure.

Maybe Teto had stolen the last piece of the loaf of French Bread.

Maybe Ted had grounded her from video games and prank pulling.

Whatever the reason, Ted left for work in a huff, and for one of the first times Meito could remember, he willingly left Teto behind.

The drill-haired girl sat at the table with a mix of anger and sadness on her face. Though he knew he couldn't waste time...Meito walked into the kitchen slowly and sat beside her.

"Hey...What's wrong?" He asked, trying to sound comforting.

Teto said nothing, just sat with a sulk.

"...You and Ted were fighting, huh? That's not like you two..." He reached for her shoulder, she snapped him a little.

Well, this was one of the more awkward situations he had managed to get himself into. Two people who could barely get along with each other, one trying to make the other feel better.

Without much else though, Meito decided to get straight to the point.

"What could you two even fight about? He treats you like the biggest princess on earth." Part of him expected her to bite his head off. Instead, she gave him a bit of a teary look.

"Ted-san said that..." She paused. "...That...It's getting hard to take care of the four of us...And...I know he was joking, but...He said if one of you didn't live here...That maybe it would be better..."

Meito felt his eyes widen just a bit as he took this in. Ted had never threatened such a thing, or even joked about it. Sure, he'd gotten mad and said one or two things.

But to joke about throwing one of them out?

What surprised him even more was that Teto really did care about him and Mikuo. With the way she always treated them...

He glanced at the clock. Time was running short...

Gently, Meito reached out and patted her head and gave her a half-smile. "Hey, just cheer up...I'll bet he didn't mean it. Why don't you go to the library and you can both apologize for it getting out of hand?"

She appeared to brighten up considerably, a smile forming across her face. "You think he would really apologize?"

_'Knowing how much of a pansy he gets when you're all cute around him...'_

"Knowing how much he cares about you, I'm positive. So go on and tell him!" He gave her a soft shove towards the door.

Teto beamed a great big a smile and ran for the door, but stopped short. "I'm not gonna stop hiding your sake bottles though."

Before he could retaliate, she was out the door. He was so sure that would make her quit that...Oh well, she was gone now, and hopefully this wouldn't bite him later.

Now he just had one final piece to take care of...

--

Coming out of his room, it looked like Mikuo was ready for his day. Hair combed, clothes on, body care products taken care of...

Most important, however, was the bag at his side. He just had to wait now for Baraito to come and-

"Mikuo! Morning, bud! I was wondering if you'd ever get up! Man, you sleep in too much!" Meito butted into the hallway from his own room, grabbing Mikuo's free arm.

Needless to say, the aqualette was startled. He had thought Meito wasn't home! Should he be out right now? And now, Baraito couldn't-

"Hey, guess what? We haven't done a lot lately! You know what would be fun?" The grin he had was creeping Mikuo out fully.

"U-Um...No...We Haven't...? What would would be fun...?"

Jerking him across the hallway, Meito made sure for Mikuo to drop the bag before pulling him to the door in a full out run. "Let's go out and look for a few girls to flirt with! C'mon Mikuo, what do ya say?"

"B-But, I had other p-plans, I-"

"Aw, forget about that!"

"I-I'd rather stay at home, Meito-kun-"

"You really ARE getting boring!"

"I-I am? But, wait, Meito-!!"

Before he could even get another word in, Mikuo was pulled out the door with Meito as he ran across the lawn. Perfect, he was out of the house. And now, the final step was done.

"M-Meito, I just want to stay home! Please, Meito!"

"Haha! C'mon, you're just going to get all lonesome there!"

"N-No I won't!"

"Hurry up, slowpoke!" He tugged harder, until they were down the street, far away.

And any hope of Mikuo stopping his plan went far away with them.

--

The house is quiet now.

Too quiet for his taste.

Where has everyone gone off to?

A small huff escapes the blue-haired man's lips. If Mikuo wasn't going to be here today, the least he could have done was told him so he wouldn't have to go to the trouble of showing up here and making someone nearby assume he was trying to break in.

"How naive he is..." He spoke of Mikuo.

Before he left, however, the last place to be searched by his eyes was the kitchen.

And that was where he found the note, written presumably by Mikuo. He'd never seen Mikuo's handwriting before, but judging by how it looked like the scrawl of a teenager, it seemed like it had to be.

_'Dear Baraito-san,_

_I'm sorry, I had to leave suddenly. But I left you this. Please understand._

_- Mikuo.'_

A small bag was on the table, waiting for him.

The male opened it. Stared inside for a moment. Then turned around.

And left the house without a word, leaving behind the open box containing the spotted orange lily.


	10. Please Understand

Dragging his best friend around to wherever he could proved to be easy for Meito. Every word Mikuo said was given some sort of a counterattack against it, and each one would send the aqualette into a fit of stuttering and worry.

He hadn't lied when he'd said they would be flirting with girls. Or, at least, trying to. The only reason for any of it was to keep Mikuo out of the house, and Meito was sure that maybe, just maybe, if he could find a cute girl and introduce Mikuo to her...

Mikuo just seemed to lay back though whenever the two approached a girl. His head stayed down while thinking sadly to himself about how Baraito would feel mad at him for not being around.

"Ugh, that went horribly..."

Turning to glance behind, Mikuo could see the brunette coming back over to him, rubbing the red slap mark on his cheek.

"How could she not be into me? Seriously! I'm perfect material!"

"I-I'm not sure, Meito-kun..." He murmured, fidgeting his index fingers in circles around each other.

"What's got you so upset?" Meito cocked his head, noticing his friend's displeasure. Though, it wasn't like he hadn't expected it, he knew Mikuo wouldn't be very thrilled to go out today.

The only response he got was a shake of the head and Mikuo walking away from him with soft steps.

Sighing to himself, the taller male ran after until he was caught up enough to walk side-by-side with him. Maybe this plan wasn't exactly working totally and utterly right, but he would thanked in the end, he was sure.

It just had to be this way, after all.

--

Walking down the street with his hands stuck in his pockets, Mikuo glanced over and spotted in the corner of his eye, a rather familier place on the curb.

The coffeehouse where he had first seen Baraito. Maybe, just maybe, if he were lucky enough, he could find Baraito inside. But he would have to get away from Meito before that could even be thought possible...

"Um, er, Meito...?" He squeaked out, looking to the boy at his side. "I want to get something to eat..."

Meito gave him a shrug. "So we'll go get burgers or something then, kay?"

"N-No, I don't want that..."

A sigh of slight annoyance made it's way to his ears. Even if they were best friends, they're tastes seemed to differ dramatically, and Meito had always found this a pain. They both knew it, but never spoke anything of it.

"If not burgers, what then?" His fists curled up and rested against his hips, body leant back as though teetering over backwards.

More silence for a moment.

"...I want to get some coffee, if that's okay..."

"I hate drinking coffee from around here, you know." Meito's voice sounded dry, indicating he wanted to get off the topic as quickly as possible.

He had to think of something...

"Y-You could go get what you want, and I'll get what I want! Then we'll meet up by...Um...The park? Is that...alright...?"

Meito considered the situation at hand for a moment, his face showing nothing but an ambiguous expression so that Mikuo could not read him easily.

Well, they were just getting food, and Mikuo wouldn't run off because if they were meeting up, Meito would be suspicious, and...

He shook his head to clear it all out before giving a firm nod. "Fine, we'll meet back in half an hour. But you had better be at the park because I'll come looking for you if you don't."

The younger boy's Adam's Apple bobbled just a bit as he gulped down a large amount of air and nodded back, afraid to think of the consequences he might be faced with if he didn't obey.

As soon as Meito went walking and turned the other corner, Mikuo went flying down the street for the coffeehouse without hesitation. He desperatly wanted to talk to Baraito, right away, and he only had a half hour to do it...

--

Inside, it seemed there were many more people than usual crowded at tables and sipping lattes. It unnerved him a little to hear so much noise in the place that was almost always dead silent.

But as luck would have it, he managed to spot a familiar mop of blue hair sitting at the usual table in the very back corner of the cafe.

Unlike other days, there was no smirk of content waiting on the man's face. He knew, oh he knew it, Baraito was mad at him for not being around earlier...

Taking a few steps closer to the table, Baraito glanced over in time to see him about halfway across the restaurant, walking in his direction. Clenching his fingers around the mug in front him, the azure-haired male scoffed and turned his attention to look out the window, as though he'd never noticed Mikuo.

That didn't stop the teenager from taking a seat across from Baraito.

"B-Baraito-san..."

Silence.

"I-I'm sorry I wasn't there this morning. Meito pulled me out, and I just..."

"..."

"...Are you angry with me, Baraito-san?" His voice had gained a new quiver to it.

For a moment, it seemed Baraito wasn't going to say a word, his gaze affixed on whatever sights could be seen outside the window.

"...I-I'm really sorry..."

Finally, he turned to look Mikuo in the eye, and the bitter expression he gave practically made Mikuo jump out of the booth.

"Do you realize how much nerve you have?" His teeth were barred together, as though he were attempting to keep any words he might later find regretful from leaping out.

Confusion filled the other's face. What had he done wrong? It wasn't as though he'd chosen to not tell Baraito, he simply hadn't had the time to do it. "N-No...I just...I'm sorry that I wasn't there...I won't do it again, I promise...."

The older man shook his head and gave another glare. "You honestly refuse to admit to what you did? I refuse to forgive you for something like that."

"B-But what did I do? I don't know what you're talking about, Baraito-san!"

"Don't _ever_ call me that again."

His fist let go of the mug before slamming itself down on the table slightly, loud enough to make a few people at nearby tables glance over at the growing commotion.

Mikuo felt his body shake with uncontrolled tenseness. He'd never see Baraito so...So _angry_ before.

"T-Tell me what I did wrong, Baraito!" He left out the 'san', just as he'd been told. "I-I'll apologize for whatever it was right away!"

"You know what you did, and no amount of words is going to repent for it."

Pulling himself up from the seat, Baraito straightened himself and strode away from the table angrily. Deep inside, it felt as though a fuming presence was building itself up in his chest, until it began to well up too fast to be suppressed any longer.

He had one foot out the door before a hand grabbed a wad of cloth from the back of his suit, gripping on with all it's might so he wouldn't leave. "B-Baraito-san, please tell me what's wrong! I'm sorry for whatever it is! I'll do anything to make it up to you!"

The idea of kicking the boy in the shin with his other foot came to mind, but Baraito thought himself better then to resort to violence such as that.

Always, he'd been better then that.

Always.

"I said to never call me that again! And let go of me this instant!" Thrusting forward out the door, Mikuo nearly lost his footing before letting go and catching himself in the doorway. Baraito just walked ahead on the sidewalk.

Though he knew for sure that some of the patrons at the cafe had seen the little scuffle, he didn't rightly care anymore.

He wouldn't be going back there again anyway.

No reason was made for it any longer.

Heavy footsteps ran up from behind him along with tired pants of breath. "Baraito, I'm _sorry_ already! I don't know what I did! Can't you just tell me what it is!?"

While his words were enough to make the man stop walking, he refused to turn around and face Mikuo directly.

"...I really should have realized it from the beginning...This whole act...You would make a good actor..." A small chuckle escaped his lips, the first Mikuo had heard him do all day, but this one sounded crooked.

Twisted.

"It was wrong of me to think this could possibly work out. Relationships like ours would only be seen as taboo and disgusting in taste...Perhaps that is best. More reason then to make it stop."

"I don't u-understand what you're saying...Baraito-san, please..."

"You're the one whom told it was the end. You should accept your own decision." His voice was now cold and bitter, speaking in a low tone that seemed to strike the aqua-haired boy's heart.

What on Earth was he talking about!? He hadn't wanted it to end! "I never said anything like that!"

"You didn't have to!" Baraito turned his head to look back. "You message said it all!"

"I didn't leave any message today!"

His head began to feel dizzy, as though he were trapped underwater.

"Don't lie! I found that flower...That orange lily...How fragile it looks, but if one sees what it truly means..."

This time, Baraito's entire body turned to Mikuo. He wanted to yell many things, and though the fuel of anger was there and ready, something was still holding him back just the slightest.

"I don't know what you're talking about! Please, just listen to me! I don't want to end it!"

He didn't care about being in public at the moment, or that he was screaming at the top of his lungs practically. This wasn't what he wanted! This wasn't what should be happening!

Baraito turned his body sideways a moment, as though he were going to leave without anything more.

No!

Mikuo wouldn't let him do that!

Without a second thought, without even hesitation, he grabbed the taller man's hand and pulled him closer with hostility. Baraito struggled and yelled something he didn't hear.

"I _**love**_you, Baraito!!" Thrusting the other's arm with all the strength he could muster, Mikuo forced Baraito down until their lips crushed into a forced kiss, right there in the middle of the crowded sidewalk.

It didn't matter anymore who was watching.

It didn't matter who knew.

He didn't care about any of that. All he cared about was making him realize, making him _understand_ how deeply he felt.

That was all and anything and everything he wanted.

But Baraito _didn't_ realize, and he _didn't_ understand.

His eyes grew wide as soon as their lips touched, and in no less then two seconds did he use his free arm to push Mikuo hard enough to let go.

As soon as he was out of the teenager's grasp, he slapped Mikuo as hard as he could across the face with the back of his hand.

The aqualette was sent toppling over onto the pavement, his cheek burning with pain and his ankle twisting beneath his weight.

Laying on his side, tears began to well up in minty-green eyes as they flickered slightly to look up at the figure looming over him. He couldn't do anything more but lay where he was in pain.

Baraito stood above him stoically. No hand held out in generosity, no look of worry, not a single hint of regret in his eyes. His lips parted, ready to say something or other before closing again in a pursed fashion.

Searing warm tears began to fall down the boy's face in front of him. Still he said nothing.

People glanced over, people stared at the argument.

Yet, not one intervened.

After what seemed like forever, the looming figure Baraito possessed seemed to dissolve into nothingness before his light frame cracked itself back into place and turned away from Mikuo.

"...I never want to see you again. Do not call me and expect me to ever pick up for you as well."

Without another sound, he walked off wordlessly into the crowd before disappearing a few moments later behind the larger crowd up ahead. The atmosphere around Mikuo felt empty as soon as he couldn't see him any longer.

For several minutes after that he stayed rooted to his spot on the ground with his face turned to the ground so no one would see his tears. When the pulsating in his ankle seemed to calm itself a little more, he managed to stand after several attempts and began to limp towards the park with one hand pressed to his cheek.

Tears fell the entire walk there, and he couldn't even begin to describe the heartache he felt in that moment.

--

Meito was licking an ice cream cone, sitting on a bench when Mikuo arrived at the park. He noticed his limping right way and asked what was wrong.

Wiping his eyes with one sleeve, Mikuo lied and told him that he'd just tripped while running and twisted his ankle. When the brunette asked about the mark on his cheek, he just said he'd hit it on the ground when he fell.

Insisting that he go home and lie down, Meito let Mikuo's arm rest around his shoulders, walking slowly on the route back home.

Somehow, in the back of his mind...

He just knew it hadn't been some normal accident.


	11. One at Fault

Dragging Mikuo home seemed to take longer than it had the time before, where he had just been trying to coax the boy out of the house. But, after mustering all his strength, somehow Meito managed to accomplish the task of lugging his friend home.

Banging the front door open, he proceeded to half carry the aqua-haired teenager in a slung-over-the-shoulder fashion all the way to his bedroom at the back end of the house. As tempting as it was to throw him on the bed, maybe as a little boyish fun, he thought against it and instead eased him carefully onto the mattress.

"You haven't said anything the whole time..." Meito's voice trailed off as he backed up a little to give Mikuo some room.

There wasn't any response from the younger teen except a little shrug and a mumble that sounded along the lines of "I'm tired."

Unable to think of anything else to say, the brunette quietly slipped out the door and closed it behind him before walking back out of the hallway and into the kitchen. The box containing the orange lily still sat open on the kitchen table.

With just the slightest 'hmph' under his breath, he picked it up and simply threw it in the trash, merely deciding it wasn't worth saving.

Yes, he'd done it, he'd done it! Baraito wouldn't be coming back here ever again, he was sure of that much. And yet, the very fact of that was eating away slightly in his chest, slowly, but in a most deadly fashion.

Whatever had happened to Mikuo between the time he'd last saw him, and the time they'd met up at the park, it wasn't good, and Meito knew clearly that this wasn't just some little accident of tripping over a rock or whatever.

But things would be okay again soon, right?

He'd done what was in Mikuo's best interest, right?

That was what he kept telling himself, but for some reason, it didn't make him feel any better.

---

--

-

--

---

For the longest time, glassy green eyes seemed to stare upon the phone sitting on the nearby wood nightstand, and it seemed like it were doing the same itself. As though it were mocking him in some form.

No lights, no sounds.

Nothing at all came from it.

That would not be the case had this entire thing never transpired in the first place.

But it had, and all it had left in it's wake were questions upon questions upon even more questions than Mikuo thought could ever be stuck inside a person's head at one single time in their life.

Resting his head upon the pillow, tears began to once again flow down his cheeks in silence. Part of him wanted to run away and never come back again, and the other part of him wanted to fling his arms around the older man and cling and beg for another chance, another day to try for redemption.

It still made absolutely no sense to him. What could he have possibly done to make Baraito upset?

What was this about a flower? He'd given no flower. Nothing of that sort.

He didn't understand it in the least, how someone could seem so loving and affectionate one day, and then the next day they could simply turn cold and dump you right there in the middle of everything without even bothering to try and talk it out, try and salvage it some way.

Sadness and emptiness made up most of him at the moment, but in the corner of his mind, there was just the tiniest sliver of anger towards Baraito. Yes, that was it, he was angry, very angry...

Angry that he wouldn't give him a chance to sort this out. Angry that nothing was going the way it was supposed to be. Angry that no matter how hard he tried, it seemed like it would never be enough for him or for Baraito or for anyone.

Angry because no one was going to win, no one was going to be satisfied.

Mostly though, he was angry at himself for putting so much faith into this one solid thing.

Especially now that it had crashed down upon him in a pit of failure.

With his ankle throbbing and cheek still stinging, Mikuo turned himself inward until he was practically smothering his face into the pillow, letting himself scream into it with as much force as he could before breaking down into a larger myriad of tears.

---

--

-

--

---

One wouldn't call it exactly 'easy' to leave the boy laying there on the cement, looking as though he were going to have a mental breakage right there and then.

It wasn't easy, and yet, it didn't seem 'hard' either.

He'd grown used to leaving people behind like that, so this didn't feel too odd or out of character in his mind.

Turning down the street, Baraito could easily spot his house amongst the many lined up along the street. His seemed...How would it be said...Bigger? Fancier? Perhaps even more elegant?

Any of these words made him unsure, because it didn't seem like they were being used properly. But, in any case, he decided to let his head empty itself as soon as he could get inside.

Stepping up onto the front porch, he presented a key concealed within his sleeve before twisting it inside the lock and listening as the door made an ever familiar creak when it jarred open. Most normal people would have shivered upon hearing the creepy sound, Baraito merely shrugged it off.

He'd always rather liked the grotesque and the strange, why should something merely 'creepy' make him shudder?

It was in his nature, somehow...

As soon as the indigo-haired man shut the door, he went straight for the kitchen to prepare himself a cup of tea. It was supposed to relax people, and the stress going through him right now clearly said he needed some of it.

"How foolish he was to think this would work out..." Baraito spoke to no one, "And after that rather...upsetting gift, I wouldn't give it a second thought otherwise..."

Boiling some water into the black and red decorated teapot he had kept, the man couldn't help but ponder to himself as to what had even attracted the two of them in the first place, to at least begin with.

Surely, one couldn't just fall in love with someone as easily as them, could they?

It had to have been pure luck, pure chance. Fate even that it had come to pass. But it just hadn't been meant to be.

"After all..." He spoke again to the room, "It simply would not be allowed if anyone were to find out. He is much too young to be seen as having a relationship with me..."

Age played a role in love, that much he had always known. Consideration would be put to the test with that, and it wouldn't be in his favor if ever there were a person of authority who thought him to be one of those types whom lured in the youngest, most pure of children, and tainted them down to their very souls.

He was twenty-seven himself, and Mikuo...Mikuo...Mikuo had only been of school age, he was sure. Sixteen, had he said in one of their conversations? A difference of eleven years separated them from each other's grasp.

The teapot began to steam from it's spout, a puff of smoky cloud rising before Baraito picked up it's handle with graceful accuracy between two fingers and began to pour the slightly brown liquid into a mug. It's color reminded him of the coffee he had sipped before at the coffeehouse that he would never venture into again.

While it hadn't crossed his mind very much at the time, now it was begining to enter his mind that people had seen them, people may have wondered about them.

What did they think, exactly?

Did they believe them to be simple friends?

Perhaps related loosely by blood?

Maybe a teacher talking to a boss over something?

Or a business manager looking for a client, or someone of whom to work their vice over?

Very possibly, there was always the thought that maybe, just maybe, their observation had lead them to the truth. That they were looking at an older man, a young child, and a blossoming love.

Was blossoming.

_Was._

Not anymore.

Not ever again.

Bringing the cup of tea up to his lips, Baraito gave a sigh filled with just the slightest tinge of regrets before sipping at the tepid drink and thinking quietly to himself.

The silence in this house seemed more maddening than usual.

Perhaps the taboo of society had already burrowed it's way inside.

---

--

-

--

---

It wasn't hard to tell when the Kasane siblings had arrived home, because Meito could hear that the argument from this morning clearly hadn't stopped. So much for his advice actually helping here. He wasn't much of an advice giver, but he'd been so sure...

He didn't stick around to listen though, creeping down the hallway and hiding away in his room as a better alternative. Help wasn't plentiful for him at that point, considering that the muffled yells and high screeches still came resounding right through the paper thin wall that separated his room from everything else.

There was a squeal -no doubt by Teto-, some yelling -from Ted, he could tell easily by how deep the voice was- and the sound of crying, then footsteps running hastily past his door before the clear slam of the girl's door in the room right beside his own.

A yell of pure annoyance shot through from the living room.

Seriously, what was making these two upset? As if he didn't already have a lot to worry about!

From here, he had three options.

He could go out and try and talk to Ted, maybe get him to explain what was really happening, what was really going on during all of this. He could knock on Teto's door and hope that he might get some information instead of his head torn off.

Or, he could always just stay here until dinnertime and hope things would go back to normal, even if he doubted that last little tidbit was about to happen anytime soon.

Considering all the options...

Weighing the pros and cons...

Calculating every possible outcome with his large, pulsating mind...

Meito shucked the covers over his head and decided a much needed nap was in order.


	12. Dreamy Mental Prison

_He is standing in the midst of a blurry black and white world. Everything around him feels as though it is wobbling and tipping ever so slightly to it's side, even his body feels so disoriented that he may just topple right over. His head feels like it's pulsing painfully to his own heart beat._

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

_It's quiet, too quiet._

_He's dizzy, too dizzy._

_It's all black and white, all of it but himself and nothing more. No color exists in this replica of his own little room. It's quiet and it should be peaceful, but it's not, it's too quiet and too dizzying and he can't think straight any longer._

_There's no red to his shirt, no brown to his hair. He himself is as black and white as the world around him._

_He blends in perfectly._

_Camouflaged._

_Suddenly, the walls of the room fall away and reveal black nothingness, black smog, black in every which way, every direction. No longer can he hide, his form now revealed in white against the backdrop of dreariness around him. Yet, no light emits off him, not one little spark._

_He can't see, he can't hear. Nothing's here, nothing, nothing, nothing._

_But then, he hears something from within the endless void._

_In the distance, far, far off into the darkness that he can't squint past to see. It sounds like a voice, one that is so very familiar, and yet, no name can be pinned to it even when it calls out loud enough to echo amongst the hated bleakness._

_Who is that, he thinks?_

_Who is there, he wonders?_

_The voice grows louder still, booming so much that his headache worsens with each passing second that he must listen to this onslaught upon his ears._

_Before long, each word is drawn out. He understands every one._

_"How could you? How could you hurt me?"_

_That voice, that voice he's heard day in and day out for so long it's hard to imagine a life without it._

_"How could you do that to me, Meito? How could you hurt me like that?"_

_It's him, it's his friend, his best friend. He can't see him, but he hears him as plain as day._

_Opening his mouth to scream back out at him, but not a sound comes out._

_"How could you betray me like that? You're my best friend, Meito...How could you do something like that?"_

_But I did it for your own good, he wants to say! For both our good!_

_"I'll never forgive you for what you did...I'll never forgive you...I'll figure out it was you and I'll never, ever forgive you for betraying me...I thought we were friends...Meito, aren't we friends anymore?"_

_Of course we are! Of course we are still friends! Stop saying dumb stuff like that! I was trying to protect you! Don't you see that, Mikuo? We're best buds, I wasn't going to let that creep touch you!_

_He runs, blindly, but he runs._

_Into the smoke, into the darkness. Yelling without sound, seeing without eyes._

_Why can't he see that he was helping him? Why can't he see it?_

_"You stabbed me in the back..."_

_I didn't!_

_"You hurt me..."_

_Believe me, I was trying to protect you!_

_"So I'm going to hurt you...!"_

_That voice, it's no longer Mikuo's, it can't be Mikuo's. He wouldn't say such a thing, nor do such a terrible act, would he?_

_He turns, he screams soundlessly..._

_And when the feeling of his spine being stabbed multiple times with the sharp edged knife of betrayal hits him, that is when he realizes too late._

_That voice is Mikuo's._

_That was Mikuo doing this._

_Because he had pushed him that far._

_He had done it._

_It was his fault._

---

--

-

--

---

He awoke in the safety of his own bed, sheets covered in cold sweat and breathing panic-filled gasps. Darting his eyes around the room, Meito reached up and put one hand to his chest, grimacing at how sweaty he really had become.

That couldn't have happened, right?

It was just some stupid nightmare.

Mikuo didn't know anything. He didn't know how to spot danger when it was right there. He didn't know how to defend himself against anyone, so it was Meito's job to do it for him, now wasn't it?

He didn't know that his best was the one who'd done this to him.

A sigh of relief washed over him when he remembered this.

Maybe he didn't know what had gone on with Mikuo earlier that day, but he knew for a fact that there was no way the aqua-haired teenager suspected that Meito was the reason behind Baraito's soon-to-disappear status.

What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?

He'd go back to normal soon. Things would be the way they had been before.

Things would be right again.

Throwing the covers onto the foot of the bed, Meito once again sprawled himself out on the bed and closed his eyes. No way a weird dream like that was going to make him give up on precious sleep.

Instead, he tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, until finally, the brunette managed to find peace.

It was only momentarily.

The smog rolled in again, and there he was, on his knees, listening to the accusations being pushed down upon him.

He hadn't been wrong.

He didn't do anything wrong.

That was what he kept telling himself for comfort...

---

--

-

--

---

_It didn't work._


End file.
